The mini-earthquake caused by the closure of the four Xbox studios has been commented on for three days by many people in the industry, but today it is the creator of Xbox who is speaking: Seamus Blackley.
Seamus Blackley criticizes the financial decisions of big companies like Microsoft
We have read a lot of disappointment among many developers over the past three days, including within Xbox. If the studio that created a game like HiFi-Rush, judged internally as a success on all counts, closes, then what future can those who currently find themselves working within other Xbox studios hope for? What trust can they have in their parent company?
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Jazzman and physicist, he has obviously followed his baby for all these years even if he has not been at Microsoft since 2002. While the morale of the teams is undoubtedly quite low at the dawn of the Xbox conference this summer 2024, the creator of the very first Xbox, Seamus Blackley, commented on the brand's recent news.
Having tea in a crappy hotel room. Thinking of the Xbox. Thinking of all the developers who have just lost their jobs and their dreams. It's so scary. It's really hard to do creative things. It takes a lot of courage.
I think of you all. Sending you love.
Yesterday I tweeted (yes) my support for Sarah Bond who found herself responding to this and stumbling. Some people were mad at me, but I know what it's like to be on the spot for bad news. I don't know if she or even Phil had any say in the layoffs.
I know the stench of decisions made by money men and how they destroy the lives and confidence of creative people.
And that is the tragedy.
The games industry continues to forget, then relearn *the hard way* that it's the DEVELOPERS who matter.
Treat them better.
The end of Seamus Blackley's remarks fits quite well with the message conveyed by Dinga Bakaba, boss of the Arkane Lyon studio which belongs to Bethesda, and therefore to Microsoft. He spoke of a “fucking stab” regarding the closure of the four Xbox studios, and praised the work of the developers, who often work behind the scenes and overtime to create the experiences which we test with the end of a joystick.